1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital versatile disk device, and particularly relates to a digital versatile disk device which can be connected to a computer.
The present invention is based on Patent Application No. Hei 10-189478 filed in Japan, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Background Art
CDs (Compact Disks) have been developed for recording musical data, and have been used as supplemental large-volume recording media for computers because of a large memory capacity, and reduced cost in production. Recently, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) devices, new recording media with a larger memory capacity, have been developed and begun to be put into practical use. As the technology of the multi-media advances and as the processing capacity of computers increases, the application fields of computers will expand in the near future, and the DVDs will take over the present position of CDs.
Nowadays, the application programs of computers are supplied by CDs, since a CD can be manufactured at lower cost. Therefore, in general, a majority of portable computers (note-type personal computers) use CDs because of their serviceability. In addition, in order to improve the portability and serviceability of portable computers, some computers has started to be provided with a mechanism which can remove or detach CD devices. In the future, the above mentioned computers will use DVDs instead of CDs as large volume supplemental memory devices.
However, in computers that are capable of removing CD or DVD devices, the removed CD or DVD device cannot be used alone as a unit. That is, a problem arises that it is possible to CD or DVD devices only when they are connected to a computer when installing an application and, when CD or DVD devices are not connected with a computer, they are not used for reproducing a video by being connected to a display.
Therefore, DVD devices are only serviceable when they are connected with a computer.
In such service conditions, even when CD or DVD devices are used only for reproducing a video, power must be supplied to the computer as a whole, that is, the computer body, a display, and peripheral devices connected to the computer body, so that the power consumption and the noise level becomes large. Furthermore, since the computer must be operated for only the reproduction of the video, the operation efficiency of the whole computer system becomes low.
The present invention is carried out in order to solve the above described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a digital versatile disk device which is capable of reproducing a video even if the digital versatile disk device is not connected to a computer and thus without operating computers.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a digital versatile disk device which can reduce power consumption and noise, and can improve the ease of operation.
In order to solve the above described problems, the first aspect of the present invention provides a digital versatile disk device comprising: a detection means for detecting whether or not the digital versatile disk device is connected to a computer; a DVD driving device for reading information from the digital versatile disk; a DVD decoder for reproducing sounds and images based on said information; and a control means for controlling said DVD driving device and said DVD decoder in response to the detection results by said detection means.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the digital versatile disk device according to the first aspect further comprises a disconnection means for disconnecting an electrical connection between the digital versatile disk device and said computer in response to the result of said detection means.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the digital versatile disk device according to the first aspect further comprises an inputting means for inputting an operational instruction from a user, wherein said control means controls said DVD driving device and said DVD decoder in response to the input instruction from said inputting means.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the digital versatile disk device according to the first aspect, wherein, when said detection means detects that the digital versatile disk device is not connected to a computer, the operation of said control means is stopped, and said DVD driving device is controlled by said computer.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the digital versatile disk device according to the first aspect further comprises a DVD encoder for encoding external information input from the outside, wherein said DVD driving device can write information in the digital versatile disk; and said control means write signals output from said DVD encoder into said digital versatile disk.